Springs House of Horror: Father Slits Wrists After Bail Denied


By Robert    05-Jun-2014 20:00 UTC+02:00
Photocred: www.sheknows.com

Photocred: www.sheknows.com

The 36 year-old father of five, accused of years of abuse towards his wife and children, slit his wrists in an apparent attempt to take his own life after he was denied bail today in the Springs Magistrate’s Court.

The man had just been denied bail and was as such placed in the courtroom holding cells when he tried to kill himself by slitting his wrists with a sharp object.

The wounds were said to be quite deep, but had been bandaged to control the bleeding. It is not yet clear what the man used to perform the attempted suicide, or how such an object was obtained in the holding cell.

The man, aged 36, is alleged to have held his five children, aged between two and sixteen, captive in his house for years. The kids and the man’s wife were subjected to countless acts of abuse and the children were not allowed to attend school.

The father was arrested last Friday when his eleven year-old son managed to escape their upmarket Springs residence and alert the neighbours, who alerted the police. The man faces charges of kidnapping, abuse, attempted murder and statutory rape.

The emergency services rushed to the courtroom to assist the man and he was subsequently taken in an ambulance to receive medical treatment.

According to The Star, a lawyer who was initially assisting the accused, but quit after he did not receive payment for his services, advised Legal Aid SA attorneys that the man was in need of psychiatric assessment as he was suicidal.

There was quite an audience in the public gallery, presumably angry community members and spectators alike. The entire gallery erupted with applause immediately as the verdict of, “Bail access denied,” was heard.

According to magistrate Roy Le Roux, the man did not convince the court that it was within the interests of justice to release him on bail. On the contrary, he was found to have made a false statement with regards to the whereabouts of his son and may, consequentially, be charged with perjury.

It also had to be taken into account that the man has received a multitude of threats from community members should he be granted bail.

The man is currently admitted at the Springs Far East Rand Hospital.

Leutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said that the police, “are investigating how this sharp object entered the court.” He could not comment on the extent of the man’s injuries.


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